Volume 12 Issue 2
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Browsing Volume 12 Issue 2 by Author "Christian, Beverly"
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Publication A Health Check of Avondale's Distance Education Program: Where Have we Been? Where are we Going Next?(Avondale Academic Press, 2018-11-01) Bolton, David; Christian, Beverly; Kilgour, Peter W.; Northcote, Maria T.; Hinze, JasonAvondale College of Higher Education has been offering tertiary courses for over 120 years. In the past two decades, this institution has extended its programs to include distance courses for students who opt to study online or are not able to attend on-campus courses at Avondale’s Lake Macquarie and Sydney campuses. While all of the institutions courses are evaluated on a regular basis, no formal evaluation had ever been undertaken of the distance education program as a whole. During 2017, a mixed methods research project was conducted to gather evaluative data from recent and current distance students using questionnaires and focus groups. The results of the study provide insight into the extent to which the distance education program at the College provides a space in which learning relationships can develop in online communities. Also, suggestions for future improvement and further research recommendations are provided. Findings of this study may be of interest to educators and administrators who incorporate online components in their curricula.
Publication Are Christian Schools Really Christian? Perceptions of Final Year Pre-service Teachers in Australia(Avondale Academic Press, 2018-11-01) Beamish, Peter; Christian, BeverlyFinal year pre-service teachers at a private provider of Christian higher education were surveyed to discover their perceptions of the special character of a wide spectrum of Australian Christian faith-based schools. They each completed an eight week placement, spread over two sessions, in a Christian school. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through open-ended written responses and a questionnaire. The results indicated that a special Christian character was visible to the preservice teachers, with evidence that Christian worldview alignments in the areas of school culture, relationships, service and discipleship in Christian schools is easier to identify than in the learning and teaching aspects of schools’ operations.
Publication Wellbeing Notebook: New Idea or Old Wisdom?(Avondale Academic Press, 2018-11-01) Christian, BeverlyIn a series of introductory classes on wellbeing in schools this year, my primary pre-service students and I looked at wellbeing from four different perspectives.